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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · content · degree · face · bat · field · fall · foot

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. content — the amount
  3. bore — to drill
  4. content — happy
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — temperature
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fall — to drop
  15. face — to confront
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — the season
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com